Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Google’s testing a dark mode feature for websites in its iPhone app

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Google Search Labs is a program that allows users to try out and provide feedback on new, experimental features for Google Search. It is basically a way for Google to get real-world input on how people interact with and respond to potential changes to the search experience. And while lately, Search Labs primarily focuses on generative AI, Google also experiments with various features, such as Auto Dark Mode on the iPhone.According to 9to5Google, a reliable source for Google news, the tech giant’s Google app on iOS is testing a new Search Labs experiment. This feature lets users enable dark mode on any website they visit or:

Just so you know, the Google app on iPhone works like a browser with its own tab system. If you are part of the Labs program, once you enable the experiment, Auto Dark Mode kicks in for all compatible websites by default. You can easily switch it off using a new sun icon in the address bar on the right.

In the screenshots from the source, its site is shown in light mode first. The second image shows the native night theme, and the last one displays Google’s Auto Dark Mode. This mode is mostly gray, not pure black.

Google warns that:

Auto Dark Mode is only available in the iOS Google app and isn’t showing up on Android yet. Of course, just because Google is testing this feature doesn’t mean it is a sure thing. However, given the stats and user preferences, it’s likely we will see a broader rollout of Dark Mode in the Google app.

Dark mode is becoming the go-to for mobile users, and Google is definitely paying attention. Stats show that dark mode usage has increased by 47% since Android and iOS introduced system-wide options. Plus, over 80% of mobile users say they prefer dark mode because it helps reduce eye strain.

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